*Players are listed in the table in order of preference for the day of action. The write-ups are listed in alphabetical order for ease of reading.
CATCHER
| Probable | vL | vR | vL | vR | Last 7 | ||||||||
| Player | Tm | Bat | Opp | Pitcher | Hand | OPS | OPS | wOBA | wOBA | OPS | Aces$ | DK$ | FD$ |
| Josh Phegley | OAK | R | SEA | Roenis Elias | L | .980 | .748 | .424 | .326 | 0 | 4250 | 3100 | 3000 |
| Derek Norris | SD | R | STL | Tim Cooney | L | .839 | .702 | .367 | .307 | 0.64 | 4900 | 3400 | 3000 |
| Jonathan Lucroy | MIL | R | PHI | Chad Billingsley | R | .280 | .664 | .138 | .298 | 0.63 | 5000 | 3500 | 3000 |
| A.J. Pierzynski | ATL | L | WSH | Max Scherzer | R | .557 | .754 | .258 | .333 | 0.68 | 4750 | 2500 | 2200 |
Lucroy has five hits his last two games and has scored four times his last three games. Billingsley is back having not made a start since May 15th… and he’s not good.
Norris is always a threat when a lefty is on the bump (.298/.365/.474).
Pierzynski is batting .333 with a homer and seven RBIs over 33 at-bats against Strasburg. He had a homer Wednesday and has a hit in seven of eight games.
Phegley is pretty much a must start when a lefty is on the bump given his remarkable slash line (.340/.400/.580).
FIRST BASE
| Probable | vL | vR | vL | vR | Last 7 | ||||||||
| Player | Tm | Bat | Opp | Pitcher | Hand | OPS | OPS | wOBA | wOBA | OPS | Aces$ | DK$ | FD$ |
| Edwin Encarnacion | TOR | R | BOS | Wade Miley | L | .795 | .798 | .356 | .351 | 0.964 | 5650 | 4400 | 4000 |
| Ryan Howard | PHI | L | MIL | Matt Garza | R | .455 | .790 | .204 | .344 | 0.583 | 4250 | 3500 | 2500 |
| Yonder Alonso | SD | L | STL | Tim Cooney | L | .881 | .774 | .400 | .349 | 0.6 | 4650 | 3500 | 2600 |
| Ben Paulsen | COL | L | ARI | Jeremy Hellickson | R | .777 | .875 | .339 | .379 | 0.667 | 4750 | 3300 | 2600 |
Alonso is batting .372 with a .926 OPS on the road this season. He’s also batting .324 at night and has a strong .881 OPS against left-handed pitching.
Encarnacion hit .303 with a .935 OPS in June. In his last eight games he’s hit four homers with nine RBIs.
Howard has 11 homers in 207 at-bats against righties. He faces Garza who has allowed six homers his last four starts.
Paulsen is batting .286 on the road and he has a .985 OPS in 21 night games. Hellickson allowed seven runs last time out and in seven home starts he has a 5.45 ERA and 1.53 WHIP.
SECOND BASE
| Probable | vL | vR | vL | vR | Last 7 | ||||||||
| Player | Tm | Bat | Opp | Pitcher | Hand | OPS | OPS | wOBA | wOBA | OPS | Aces$ | DK$ | FD$ |
| Devon Travis | TOR | R | BOS | Wade Miley | L | .866 | .812 | .369 | .357 | 0.75 | 4600 | 3600 | 3000 |
| Robinson Cano | SEA | L | OAK | Scott Kazmir | L | .517 | .697 | .231 | .308 | 0.893 | 4750 | 3500 | 2400 |
| Jedd Gyorko | SD | R | STL | Tim Cooney | L | .900 | .430 | .399 | .198 | 0.333 | 3800 | 2900 | 2200 |
| Danny Espinosa | WSH | B | ATL | Manny Banuelos | L | .893 | .741 | .392 | .331 | 0.483 | 4450 | 3200 | 2500 |
Cano had four hits Wednesday. He’s a career .288 hitter with a decent .775 OPS against lefties.
Espinosa has a strong .393 OBP and impressive .500 SLG when a lefty is on the hill.
Gyorko has done one thing well this year – hit left handed pitching (.308/.413/.487).
Miley hasn’t been very effective against righties (.279/.341/.414). Travis has a hit in four of five games since he returned from shoulder woes.
THIRD BASE
| Probable | vL | vR | vL | vR | Last 7 | ||||||||
| Player | Tm | Bat | Opp | Pitcher | Hand | OPS | OPS | wOBA | wOBA | OPS | Aces$ | DK$ | FD$ |
| Maikel Franco | PHI | R | MIL | Matt Garza | R | 1.010 | .882 | .435 | .382 | 0.581 | 4850 | 4300 | 3300 |
| Brett Lawrie | OAK | R | SEA | Roenis Elias | L | .917 | .692 | .395 | .309 | 0.609 | 4300 | 3400 | 3000 |
| Mike Moustakas | KC | L | MIN | Kyle Gibson | R | .680 | .886 | .308 | .390 | 0.452 | 5000 | 4000 | 2700 |
| Aramis Ramirez | MIL | R | PHI | Chad Billingsley | R | .572 | .708 | .252 | .308 | 1 | 4750 | 3500 | 3300 |
Franco has a .882 OPS against righties with a strong wOBA. Meanwhile, Garza has allowed six homers his last four starts and he’s allowed 25 runs in those four starts.
Lawrie has been tough on lefties all season with a .575 SLG and .917 OPS. Over his last 14 games he’s also batting .346 with a .942 OPS and 11 runs batted in.
Moustakas takes on the less than dominating Gibson. Moose has hit four big flies against righties and has a .886 OPS and near .400 wOBA.
Ramirez is batting .333 with an OPS over a grand against Billingsley in 24 at-bats. He also has a 4-game hitting streak and has seven RBIs the last three games.
SHORTSTOP
| Probable | vL | vR | vL | vR | Last 7 | ||||||||
| Player | Tm | Bat | Opp | Pitcher | Hand | OPS | OPS | wOBA | wOBA | OPS | Aces$ | DK$ | FD$ |
| Nick Ahmed | ARI | R | COL | Chris Rusin | L | .924 | .580 | .413 | .259 | 0.788 | 4000 | 3300 | 3000 |
| Xander Bogaerts | BOS | R | TOR | Matt Boyd | L | .788 | .711 | .346 | .314 | 0.71 | 4500 | 4300 | 2700 |
| Clint Barmes | SD | R | STL | Tim Cooney | L | .876 | .667 | .386 | .291 | 0.857 | 3200 | 2500 | 2400 |
| Alcides Escobar | KC | R | MIN | Kyle Gibson | R | .582 | .711 | .263 | .318 | 0.556 | 4750 | 4000 | 2500 |
Back to the Ahmed well. Hard to ignore that .923 OPS against lefties. Ahmed also has five hits his last three outings and that includes two homers.
Barmes on the cheap. He’s batting .281 on the road, .325 at night and he actually has a .876 OPS against lefties.
Bogaerts is batting .300 with a .355 OBP against lefties. He’s also hit eight doubles in his last 10 games.
Escobar against Gibson leads to a lot of hits. Escobar is batting .471 over 17 at-bats.
OUTFIELD
| Probable | vL | vR | vL | vR | Last 7 | ||||||||
| Player | Tm | Bat | Opp | Pitcher | Hand | OPS | OPS | wOBA | wOBA | OPS | Aces$ | DK$ | FD$ |
| Ryan Braun | MIL | R | PHI | Chad Billingsley | R | .829 | .823 | .367 | .360 | 1.172 | 5700 | 4700 | 4900 |
| Nelson Cruz | SEA | R | OAK | Scott Kazmir | L | 1.394 | .824 | .609 | .361 | 0.724 | 5250 | 4500 | 3000 |
| Billy Burns | OAK | B | SEA | Roenis Elias | L | .856 | .764 | .380 | .338 | 0.739 | 4750 | 4100 | 3500 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | TEX | L | BAL | Kevin Gausman | R | .476 | .868 | .221 | .382 | 0.781 | 4500 | 4000 | 2700 |
| Austin Jackson | SEA | R | OAK | Scott Kazmir | L | .905 | .602 | .394 | .270 | 0.583 | 4500 | 3600 | 2600 |
| Randal Grichuk | STL | R | SG | Tyson Ross | R | 781 | .909 | .336 | .390 | 0.862 | 4250 | 3700 | 3700 |
| Chris Colabello | TOR | R | BOS | Wade Miley | L | 1.144 | .807 | .490 | .355 | 0.684 | 4900 | 3300 | 3100 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | SEA | R | OAK | Scott Kazmir | L | .733 | .000 | .355 | .000 | 0.333 | 3750 | 2700 | 2700 |
Braun has a .937 OPS on the road. His career OPS against the Phils in 51 games is 1.168 with 17 homers. He’s hit .459 with a 1.242 OPS his last 10 games.
Burns is batting .338 with a .394 OBP and even a solid .462 SLG against lefties. He’s also batting a robust .373 at home.
Choo has a .365 OBP and .503 SLG against righties this season. He’s also suddenly hot with a homer in 3-straight games and a runs scored in 4-straight. In limited work this season Gausman has allowed a 50 percent fly ball rate.
Colabello strikes again. He has a .993 OPS at home, it’s .901 at night and when there is a lefty on the bump it’s 1.144.
Cruz has obliterated lefties this season with a .902… slugging percentage. His OPS is 1.394.
Jackson has 51 plate appearances against lefties this season and he’s posted a .373 OBP and .904 OPS. Jackson has three 2-hit games in his last five outings.
Grichuk faces Ross with a 21.4 HR/F ratio against righties, a .354 BABIP and a .909 OPS.
Gutierrez has hit .288 with a .344 OBP and .474 SLG versus lefties in his career. He’s also batting .389 over 18 at-bats against Kazmir.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday at 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).